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Friday, August 29, 2014

Hopstring Fest 2014 was a huge success! Despite rain that mucked up other area events, Joliet's premier summer festival for Americana music and craft beer entertained thousands in comfort, thanks to the concrete concourses of Joliet's Silver Cross Field.

I played a couple small roles in the festival. I was the first performer of the day on the Red Betty stage, which included such great acts as Allison Flood, J Ross Green, Dan Dougherty and Rebecca Rego. The Prairie Ghosts performed before me on the main stage, opening the festival. Triz and Kathy of Chicago Street Pub throw a great party!

Kevin Errek photo

I also helped publicize the event. I applied my PR skills to connect artists Allison and Chris Flood of Lockport, New Lenox's Kev Wright of The Righteous Hillbillies, Frankfort's Chase Walsh and Mokena's John Narcissi with reporters and photographers from their town's local newspapers. That helped get the word about Hopstring out to thousands of nearby fest-goers, so great thanks to 22nd Century Media for their community journalism!

A photographer from the Mokena Messenger came out and took pictures of several Hopstring performers including John Condron and Pat Otto, Jake Cullen and and Bridget Cavanaugh of the Cotton Headed Ninny Muggins at the Wednesday acoustic open mic at Tribes Alehouse before Hopstring, so that was great.

With Allison Flood. Chris Flood photo.

I had a great time performing a set of five originals from 11:35 a.m. to noon, before the rain. I played my mahogany Martin acoustic and used a Boss loop pedal to solo over a rhythm track. I opened with "Record Store" and "Mr. Deal," then Aly joined me for "Red Rover." I played "Sparks" and closed with the new tune "No Tomorrow" with a chorus of "Give Peace a Chance."

Jo and Noah were there, and Kev and Deb. Scott McNeil ran sound and Chris was managing the stage. I hung with Tim Placher, saw Chuck Pelkie, an old friend Jim Baker from our concrete days together, and a ton of musicians. I got to hang backstage with the guys from The Steepwater Band, Chicago Farmer and Edward David Anderson and met the world-renowned slam poet Roger Bonair-Agard thanks to Mark Eleveld and Ron Maruszak of EM Press.

Kevin Errek photo

Kevin Errek took some great photos. I ran around between three, sometimes four stages, snapping pictures of the performers. I really didn't get much of chance to hear too many performers but had a great time. I was sore for a couple days afterwards, my calves and back especially, but I recovered.

It was great getting to know Kristin Barry, Dave Johnston, Pete Hegarty and Eric Johnson of Flipside Works better in the weeks leading up to the fest. I bought a very cool piece to wear around my neck from Sue Regis Glass Art. It's great living in a community that supports art, and making friends with all types of artists.

I also had fun writing about other artists and sharing their stories on this blog the past two months. This closes the chapter on Hopstring Fest 2014, and the next post will be about something completely different.

This was the third fest presented by Mike "Triz" & Kathy Trizna, owners of Joliet's Chicago Street Pub. The pub is a hub for live, local, original bluegrass, roots, Americana and blues/folk/rock music in Joliet. chicagost.com

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Joliet-area
musican Alex Hoffer and his band will perform on the Hopstring Fest mainstage from
1:05 to 1:40 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in Joliet’s Silver Cross Field.

Tickets for
the 12 and a halfhour celebration
of live music, food and craft beer are $20/presale, $30 at the door and are
available through hopstringfest.com and at
Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St., Joliet.

For his
Hopstring Fest set Hoffer will be joined by band members Tom Maslowski on bass,
Doneco Nudi on drums, Giles Corey on guitar and multi-instrumentalist Pat Otto
on mandolin and mandola.

Hoffer, 29,
was born and raised mostly in Joliet. He started playing guitar when he was “16
or 17,” and has been a full-time musician since 2008. He estimates he’ll
perform about 200 shows this year, both solo and with his band.

“I’ve gained
more experience performing this year than ever before and doing a lot of things
I haven’t done before,” Hoffer says.

He’s also on
the verge of releasing his first studio recording, a four-song EP of originals
called “Free From Apathy.” The tracks were recorded with band members at
Chicago Recording Company this year.

“My writing
is changing as I become a better player,” Hoffer says. “The songs have spaces
and are structured to allow for different timings and things.”

Hoffer plays
acoustic guitar mostly and performs folk/rock music with progressive or “prog
rock” overtures. He performs often in the Chicago area but has played
throughout the Midwest and across the country.He recently sang the national anthem at a Cubs game.

At Hopstring
Fest, Hoffer says fans can expect a great day of live, local, original music
presented by organizer and Chicago Street Pub owners Mike “Triz” and Kathy
Trizna.

“Hopstring
is a gathering of all kinds of people—people who are passionate about craft
beer and great music,” he says. “Triz has been the area’s biggest supporter of
people doing their own music. People from all over the Midwest know about
Chicago Street Pub.”

Hoffer encourages people to visit his website, alexhoffer.com, to listen to and download
his original music.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Veteran
Joliet-area performers John Condron & the Old Gang Orchestra will play a
set on Hopstring Fest’s mainstage from 5:10 to 5:55 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in
Joliet’s Silver Cross Field.

Tickets for
the 12 and a half-hour celebration of live music, food and craft beer are
$20/presale, $30 at the door and are available through hopstringfest.com and at Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago
St., Joliet.

Condron, 41,
will be joined by Old Gang Orchestra members Tom Maslowski on bass, Doneco Nudi
on drums and multi-instrumentalist Pat Otto on mandolin and mandola.

Condron has
released five albums since moving to Joliet from Philadelphia in 1997: “If Any
Or At All,” (2012),“Eleventh Hour
Grace” (2010), “Loud As Silence” (2006), “Down To
Dorsey” (2004) and “My Own Device” (2001). The most recent was a solo album,
with others released by the band he formerly fronted, John Condron & the
benefit.

“If Any Or
At All” marked Condron’s debut on the Flipside
Works label. Flipside Works is managing Hopstring Fest’s mainstage lineup
this year, which is headlined by Cracker. Condron also manages the label’s
Midwestern artists, which include Hopstring Fest performer Allison Flood.

Connections
abound among Condron and Joliet’s independent, original music community. He’s a
former co-owner of Chicago Street Pub
with Mike Trizna, who organizes and presents Hopstring Fest.

“Mike and
Kathy Trizna are huge fans of music and have done incredible things for the
local music scene,” Condron says. “Hopstring Fest is like hearing in one place
on one day the 20 best sets of all the bands that come through Chicago Street
Pub in a year.”

When he
moved to Joliet 17 years ago, Condron was playing rhythm guitar in the New
York-based band Poets and Slaves. The band was looking to relocate to the
Midwest and took up residency on the floor above the restaurant, then known as
Chicago Street Bar & Grill.

“I’m in awe
of what Triz and Kathy have accomplished,” Condron says. “We planted seeds
together years ago to create a music community but they’re responsible for what
it has become.”

Condron
started working at the restaurant as a bartender then as manager, and brought
Trizna on board. The pair took over operation of the business and eventually
ownership on Jan. 1, 2005. Condron sold his share to Kathy Trizna when his son
Liam was born in 2009.

Condron also credits disc jockey Mike Tomano for helping
establish his name by playing songs from “My Own Device” on WYKT-FM.

These
days, Condron continues to perform regularly and is writing new material. He
also produces works for other artists, including a debut by Flood being
recording at Third City Sound, a
studio located above Chicago Street Pub.

Condron
also has produced, arranged and performed on a full-length studio recording for
multi -latinum Irish singer songwriter Mickey Harte and collaborated with legendary
songwriter Paul Brady, for whom he opened a show at Old Town School of Folk
Music last year.

He’s
toured across the United States, in Ireland and throughout Europe in support of
his original material. Visitwww.johncondron.com to learn
more.

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Chicago Farmer is among the 10 mainstage acts at this year’s Hopstring Fest and will perform from 3:05 to 3:45 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23, in Joliet’s Silver Cross Field.

Tickets for the 12-hour celebration of live music, food and craft beer are $20/presale, $30 at the door and are available through hopstringfest.com and at Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St., Joliet.

Chicago Farmer is the stage name for Cody Diekhoff, a songwriter and musician who moved to Chicago from a small central Illinois farming community in 2003. He writes, sings and plays mostly acoustic roots Americana music inspired by the likes of Woody Guthrie and John Prine.

Chicago Farmer has released six albums: “Backenforth, IL” (2013), “Somethin’ Else” (2011), “Gunshots on Tuesday” (2009), “Talk Of Town” (2007), “From a Small Town in Illinois” (2006) and “About Time” (2005).

Growing up in Delavan, IL with a population less than 2,000, Diekhoff’s grandparents were farmers, and their values have always provided the baseline of his songs.

“I love the energy, music, and creativity of Chicago, but at the same time, the roots and hard work of my small town,” he says on his website.

He writes music for the “kind of people that come to my shows. Whether in Chicago or Delavan, everyone has a story, and everyone puts in a long day and works hard the same way,” he says. “My generation may have been labeled as slackers, but I don’t know anyone who doesn’t work hard – many people I know put in 50-60 hours a week and 12 hour days. That’s what keeps me playing. I don’t like anyone to be left out; my music is for everyone in big and very small towns.”

He listened to punk rock and grunge as a kid before discovering a friend’s dad playing Hank Williams, and it was a revelation. Prine and Guthrie quickly followed. The name Chicago Farmer was originally for a band, but the utilitarian life of driving alone from bar to bar, city to city – to make a direct connection to his audience and listener, took a deeper hold.

Chicago Farmer has previously performed at Hopstring Fest and at Joliet’s Chicago Street Pub.

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Fresh off
the release of his debut full-length solo album, American songwriter Edward
David Anderson performs on Hopstring Fest’s mainstage from 4 to 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 23, in Joliet’s Silver Cross Field.

Tickets for
the 12 and a half hour celebration of live music, food and craft beer are $20/presale, $30 at the door and are
available through hopstringfest.com and at
Chicago Street Pub, 75 N. Chicago St., Joliet. Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Anderson has
shared stages with Hopstring Fest headliners Cracker previously, most recently
on July 31 at The Castle Theatre in Bloomington, where friend and Cracker
guitarist Johnny Hickman joined Ed onstage for his set.

He performed
two mainstage sets at the 2013 Hopstring Fest, one as a solo artist and another
with the band Magic Box.

Best known for his work with Backyard Tire Fire, who released a string
of acclaimed albums in the previous decade, Anderson in April released his solo
debut, “Lies & Wishes.” The
10-track collection was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos.

Anderson was born and raised just west of Chicago and lives a simple
life, spending winters in an RV alongside the Gulf of Mexico in lower Alabama. He
says he’s on an existential quest to find meaning through song.

"I feel like every experience, every mile, every interaction, every
tune, sort of got me to where I am at this moment," Anderson says on his
website. "The songs on the record are confessional by nature. They are
songs about loss and love and living and hope. Halfway through my life, it's an
honest look in the mirror."

Anderson's journey over the last five years and his response to the
challenges he faced is what sets the lifers apart from those that concede the
artistic pursuit. The dissolution of Backyard Tire in 2011 was the first
obstacle to overcome. The band had built a devout cult following around the
U.S., counting Cracker, Reverend Horton Heat and Clutch among their fans, all
of whom took BTF on the road exposing them to a wider audience. It was around
this time that Steve Berlin of Los Lobos was first drawn to Anderson's
songwriting.

“Backyard Tire Fire opened a show for us and I remember being backstage
and listening to their music and I was like, ‘Wow, that song sounds really
familiar. Whose cover is that? It’s a classic tune,’” says Berlin. “It turns
out that they were all Ed’s originals. They just had that instantly memorable
quality to them. So, I introduced myself at the show and we became buddies and
then collaborators. Ed’s music is so evocative, so well written. I honestly
think he is as talented as anyone in the songwriting world and it is important
that he be heard.”

Anderson adds: "I was just starting to get back on the road again
after Tire Fire split, touring with my friend Johnny Hickman and I got inspired
to get back in the studio. I had these songs and had something pretty
interesting to say based on the experiences I just went through. I knew if I
could get Steve Berlin involved, who is an old friend that I’ve worked with in
the past, it could be something special.”

It was just prior to this that Anderson's mother passed away, while the
previous winter his wife lost her mother, both to extended illnesses. It was a
defining moment for the 40-year old artist and culminated in a torrent of
songwriting. Indeed, songs like "Lies & Wishes" "Lost &
Found" and "Chain Reaction" delve deep into the human condition,
asking difficult questions of both himself and his loved ones.

“A lot of the subject matter on this record came from reflecting on
these painful experiences” says Anderson. "After losing my mom, I decided
I’ve got to make a record and dedicate it to her and make a statement here on
my own. I feel like it's undoubtedly my finest work to date, the beginning of
the next chapter for me."